Why do people think a truck is something that can be borrowed?

[Lee]

I've probably owned a dozen or more vehicles in my life, and maybe once, someone asked to borrow my car...to which I said no.
I bought my first truck two years ago. I bought it new.  It's a Limited Edition 4X4, with lot's of bells and whistles, heated leather seats, big chrome wheels, with 4 doors and a short 5" bed with a custom fiberglass cover.  My neighbors have never asked to borrow anything from me...nothing. It's a nice neighborhood, most folks drive really nice cars - no shortages of BMW, Lexus, Lincoln, Caddy, Porsche, etc.  I've been asked by several of them to borrow my truck so they could pick up furniture, move their kid into a dorm or haul lawn and garden stuff.  These weren't requests for my labor - just "I'd like the key to your truck, if you don't mind".
I guess they just see any truck as a cheap tool to be used.  WRONG!!  I don't even let my wife drive my truck...and that's what I usually tell them.  I'm not opposed to semi-abusing the truck myself - and I do generally offer to help them out... if I have the time and whatever it is they want to haul will fit in the short bed.  One neighbor even came over with a tape measure to measure the bed after I told her it was too short to haul the stuff she wanted to haul.  The same neighbor called me while I was in Florida on vacation last year (she was watching our house -and she is a good neighbor); she asked me if I had left a key to my truck at home, because her husband wanted to borrow my truck.  I was so stunned I was speechless at first.
I'm seriously thinking about buying a bumper sticker for it that says, NO - YOU CAN'T BORROW MY TRUCK.
Also seriously thinking about asking my other neighbor if I can borrow his Porsche...after all, I have a truck, but would like to drive a Porsche sometimes, without actually having to buy one.
   

[RoadKingLarry]

I've never had that problem but then I'm not sure I can think of anyone I associate with that doesn't own a truck, or two. I have had one of my brother in laws ask, in all seriousness if he could borrow my bike to go on a poker run, since I'd just had shoulder surgery I wasn't going to be using it.
He just didn't understand the "Not only no but HELL no! response.

[ArfinGreebly]

Up this neck of the woods you might ask a friend or neighbor to help you out with his truck, but ask to borrow it?  Damn, boy, you'd better know him real well.

Let's all head over to TallPine's place and borrow his horse.

[Stetson]

Let's all head over to TallPine's place and borrow his horse.

That'll most likely get you hanged or shot....

[Ben]

I get that here ALL THE FREAKIN' time. Only about 25% of the time is it, "Let me borrow your truck". The other 75% is, "Can I borrow you and your truck?" I'm probably pegged as a mean guy, but I never hand over the keys and don't very often help with whatever they need the truck for. Probably because the 364 days in the year that they don't need me, those same people either lecture me about my gas guzzler or else make Redneck jokes.

[ArfinGreebly]

Heh.

I recall a story wherein a guy was criticized by some lady for driving a "gas guzzling" truck.  In his [verbal] rebuttal, he inquired of her [paraphrased], "when you call for a tow, call for a fire, or call to have stuff hauled, do they show up in a [effing] Prius?  No, they show up in a [effing] truck.  Because trucks get [stuff] done."

Was that one of you guys?

[Strings]

I have driven a friend's truck exactly once. Bedlamite's old Chevy, when I had to use it to go pick him and his bike up in Chicago.

Have asked friends with trucks to help me with hauling stuff, but have never raised a fuss if they couldn't (or wouldn't)...

[Ben]

Have asked friends with trucks to help me with hauling stuff, but have never raised a fuss if they couldn't (or wouldn't)...

If it's a good friend, I don't mind. It's when econazi coworkers and random econazi acquaintances, or just random slackers hit me up that I get touchy.

[RevDisk]

Reminds me that I need to buy a truck.

[Lee]

I've even had people I don't know ask to use my truck - through my kids.  The parents of my daughter's friend, wanted to move their other daughter into her college dorm last Fall.  My daughter called me to ask, and I told her no.  She then texted me, saying that her friends' mom wanted me to call her to explain why they couldn't use it.  After about a 15 minute cool down on my part- I called her number and got her voice mail.  I nicely said no. She didn't call back...but my daughter told me the mom was pissed because I wouldn't let them use it.  They also drive luxury cars, and I'm sure they would not loan those to me....although I might have my daughter ask them the next time we have a blizzard or ice storm.

[Jamisjockey]

Reminds me that I need to buy a truck.

Get on it! You live in the country after all....act the part!




I am not a fan of lending my truck either.  Several friends have asked me to help do stuff but not directly for the truck.

[ArfinGreebly]

I am not a fan of lending my truck either.  Several friends have asked me to help do stuff but not directly for the truck.

Look on the bright side.

At least they're not asking to borrow your wife.

[wmenorr67]

Look on the bright side.

At least they're not asking to borrow your wife.

Well I'm not using her...

[Boomhauer]

They also drive luxury cars

Because, you know, paying an obscene amount of money for looks is WAY more important than buying something with an actual purpose!

Reminds me that I need to buy a truck.

Since you have acerage I highly suggest a flatbed truck, or better yet, a small flatbed dump truck. Immense utility if you're not going to be using it as a daily driver...

[Tallpine]

That'll most likely get you hanged or shot....

Hanged and shot, or shot and hanged ... can't figure which should come first 


I went through that pickup stuff back in the late seventies: people would berate me for driving a gas guzzler and then in the next sentence ask to borrow it or help them haul something.

These were the Fish People, too.      Often I did help people if they asked nice, or more often I just volunteered.  One young couple about my age with two little kids I must have helped move six times in two years.

And after two years of helping folks move, hauling wood, and retrieving road-kill elk in the middle of -35 degree nights, the self-appointed bishop told me I wasn't worth having around 

[Jamisjockey]

Fish people? Bishop? Huh wha?

[Lee]

Look on the bright side.

At least they're not asking to borrow your wife.

My cubicle mate at work has a sign on his wall that says, "you can borrow my dog, but not my tools - the dog can find his way back home."

Without sounding too crass...that sorta applies to the truck/wife thing.  The truck is still new to me.

[zxcvbob]

Fish people? Bishop? Huh wha?

+1

[Declaration Day]

I've long since disassociated myself with anyone who would give me an enviro-weenie speech about owning a big gas-guzzling truck.

Requests for me to help move either big stuff or lots of stuff do happen, but I only say yes if it's someone I am close to, or someone I can hit up for a different favor in the future.

I don't lend my truck out, because my truck = my livelihood.  'nuff said.

OK I did lend my truck out one time back in 2005.  It was a brand new Chevy; I'd had it less than a week.  At that time, Chevys didn't come with top edge guards for the bed (I think the new ones do).  My friend at the time and his wife wanted to borrow it to pick up a Little Tikes playset they had found cheap online.

So....... did they drop the tailgate like normal people to load up the playset?  No.  They picked it up, OUT OF A SANDBOX, and slid it across the top edge of the bed.  Both sides.  Scratched the *expletive deleted*ck out of the paint.  I had bed guards on order that would thankfully cover up the scratches, and I told them if that were not the case that they'd both be paying to have the bed repainted.

Never again.

[Angel Eyes]

Hanged and shot, or shot and hanged ... can't figure which should come first 

Shoot 'em, then hang 'em, then burn 'em.

And +1 on what the heck are "Fish People"?

[Ben]

Is the Bishop related to the Governor?

The moon rises on the third night. The catfish shall be King again.

[lupinus]

I've long since disassociated myself with anyone who would give me an enviro-weenie speech about owning a big gas-guzzling truck.

Requests for me to help move either big stuff or lots of stuff do happen, but I only say yes if it's someone I am close to, or someone I can hit up for a different favor in the future.

I don't lend my truck out, because my truck = my livelihood.  'nuff said.

OK I did lend my truck out one time back in 2005.  It was a brand new Chevy; I'd had it less than a week.  At that time, Chevys didn't come with top edge guards for the bed (I think the new ones do).  My friend at the time and his wife wanted to borrow it to pick up a Little Tikes playset they had found cheap online.

So....... did they drop the tailgate like normal people to load up the playset?  No.  They picked it up, OUT OF A SANDBOX, and slid it across the top edge of the bed.  Both sides.  Scratched the *expletive deleted* out of the paint.  I had bed guards on order that would thankfully cover up the scratches, and I told them if that were not the case that they'd both be paying to have the bed repainted.

Never again.

This is why I don't loan out my stuff. I just don't do it anymore, for anyone, for anything I own that I actually care about getting back or getting back in one piece.

I was taught you treat other peoples things nicer then your own, on account of them being nice enough to loan it to you and it not being yours to treat however you want. Apparently that's a rare thought.

[zxcvbob]

I think I found it:

[MillCreek]

Fish people? Bishop? Huh wha?

I bet he is referring to his former church.  Fish people equaling Christians from the ancient ichthys symbol.

[drewtam]

I don't understand why most people even own pickup trucks. They're ugly, uncomfortable, anything stored in the bed is prone to stealing, very poor fuel mileage, awful handling, poor ride quality, mediocre offroad use, expensive, yet fall apart very easily, and take up way too much space for polite driving and parking. Do they offer any redeeming driving quality?

The amount of people who actually make a living ranching/farming is, what? ...<1% of the population. Why are these useless vehicles so socially popular to buy? How did this STATUS SYMBOL ever get started?